I fell into you and back to me
by OpheliaArkham
Summary: Being a single dad of two kids is hard, being a single dad of two werewolves is even harder. So when his four year old daughter wanders off in the mall while shopping for school clothes for Isaac and single handily drops Derek's mate into his lap he pretty much accepts his life is a soap opera he was never invited too.
1. Search you out

**A.N - This chapter has been revised as of 11/22/12. **

* * *

Erica huffed into the sleeve of her black and pink hoodie, her mass of blond curls covering her face as she watched her father hold out another really ugly shirt for her brother to try on, her tiny eyes crinkling in displeasure as Isaac took yet another stack of potential school clothes toward the dressing room.

"Daddy, I'm bored." Her brown eyes stared up at him, pleading for their retreat from the store. They had been there for almost two hours, shifting from store to store in a vain attempt to find clothes for Issac's first week of fifth grade. Erica groaned in annoyance as she watched her dad pick up another stack of shirts, eyeing them hopefully as he started to turn back toward her.

"It won't be too much longer; Isaac only has a few more shirts to try on." Derek offered her a small smile as he turned back toward the doorways that lead to the dressing rooms. "Practice your skills for a little bit princess, we'll be out of here before you know it."

"Isaac doesn't even like those clothes." She grumbled bitterly, watching him disappear from view. She listened briefly to their conversation from her spot at the front of the store; she was getting much better at using her senses ever since her father had suggested she train them whenever she needed something to occupy her time. She tapped her newly clawed fingertips on a nearby metal shelf and wiggled her tongue against her fangs, giggling to herself as she watched her eyes flash amber from the mirror on the wall.

"Erica!" Derek's head popped out from the dressing room, shooting a flash of red in her direction, "Inside skills!" She grumbled, retracting her claws and fangs as he disappeared again, sulking toward the front of the store. She watched the store attendant fold a few discarded shirts on a board before being distracted by an angry rumble from her stomach.

Erica leaned against the thick metal rim of the store's doorway, holding her small hands over the source and watching people pass in front of the store, paying her no mind. "Man is there anything better then mall pretzels?" A couple walking on the other side of the hall caught her attention, the glorious smell of buttered dough and nacho cheese wafting into her sensitive nose. Whining softly she began zoning her werewolf senses in on random passerby's and imagining making them her servants, because that's simply how she believed her powers would work as she grew older and servants meant food.

"Why yes hooman, you _can_ get me a pwretzle from the stand." Erica gestured toward the source of the smell invading her nose, her stomach growling in response as a woman passed by, smiling at the game she thought the small girl was playing out. Erica growled in displeasure and tried not to flash her amber eyes, her skills obviously weren't working properly yet, she would just have to find a more willing servant. She chewed her lip softly, glancing back at the dressing room briefly, debating staying near her family or taking matters into her own four year old hands before finally stepping out into the walkway of the mall with a determined look on her face.

She could see the pretzel stand on the other side of the mall, it wasn't horribly far from the department store and she knew her dad would be proud if she could get a human under her control before he even realized she was gone, maybe they could even take the human home as a pet. With a furrow of her brow, she concentrated on the best way to pick out her target, she eyed the people passing by her and examined the different sounds and smells circling around her. Finally breathed in deeply she pulled all the different scents into her nose, picking out the ones that seemed to coincide with her goal of tasty pretzels and eager servants.

Erica's heart thudded softly in her ears as her senses zoned in a soft earthy smell laced with sugar and accompanied by an erratic heartbeat. Her wolf rattled against her rib cage, surprising her but urging her toward the source. She crossed the crowded hallways without too much trouble, catching the attention of a few people but avoiding them easily enough. She continued past her original goal of mouthwatering mall food and continued weaving in and out of the crowds until her eyes zoned in on a man in a bright red hoodie. She watched him get closer and closer as she padded silently toward him, her wolf getting more and more anxious as the earth laced scent got stronger.

Finally reaching her small hand up to him as she entered the store where he stood, examining a shirt and talking energetically to himself a few feet away, she let out a soft cry when a pair of hands circled around her. Erica looked up to see a woman with a concerned expression staring down at her, "Where are your parents honey, are you lost?"

Erica pushed her hands frantically against the woman, her eyes widening and letting out a shrill cry of distress as she fought to get toward the man in the hoodie, "NONONO, I DON'T WANT YOU!" Her brown eyes filled with tears as she turned toward him, her hands making grabby motions as her wolf whined with desire.

The woman made small shushing noises, trying to calm her as Erica screamed and reached away from her, "Sir, is this your little girl?" The woman eyed him skeptically, already knowing the answer since she had recently been in the store where the Hale family was doing their school shopping.

"Uh…no, I don't think I've ever seen her before." Erica made a small cry of joy when her hands connected with his hoodie as he knelt in front of her, "Well hello beautiful." The man smiled at her, holding his hands out welcomingly "Are you looking for your parents?" Erica shook her head, making more frantic grabbing motions and whimpering until the woman finally released her and she practically tumbled into his arms.

"I was looking for you." She stated matter-of-factly, her wolf compelling her to bury her face into his neck, her nose pressed into the bright red of his hood as her tiny arms snaked around his neck and hugging him tightly to her, "You smelled like home and sugar."

He laughed, petting her hair lightly and making a reassuring face to the woman, who was looking more and more concerned by the minute, he turned back to the small girl in his arms trying not to feel disgusted with her expression. "The sugar is perfectly explainable, I assure you. How about we try and find whoever you belong to, how does that sound little beauty?"

Erica pulled away, fixing him with her best no nonsense stare, "You have to come home with me, we can have tea parties, and you can teach daddy how to pick out clothes that aren't ugly." Pulling her tiny hand out from behind his neck and breaking her hold on him she shot him a toothy grin as he chuckled at her and ruffled her hair fondly, "My name is Alpha Erica." Her grin was infectious and she was pleased to see the man return it with just as much enthusiasm.

"Well my name is Stiles, not an alpha of any kind but it's a very good pleasure to meet you little Alpha. As awesome as a tea party sounds I really don't think I would be very welcome at your home, so we had better find your parents before I get in a lot of trouble. I bet they'll be super pleased to see what a little ninja you are, a regular little Catwoman." Erica's grin spread even wider.

"Silly Stwles, I'm not a cat, I'm a wolf. And you have to come with me, someone has to save Issac from daddies bad fashion choices. Awnt Lydia says fashion is very important for a growing boy." Stiles picked her up, cradling her against his hip as her shook with contained mirth, allowing Erica to cling to him and giving the woman an apologetic look.

"Well, I think little Erica and I have at least one concerned parent to locate, I don't suppose you have any idea which direction she came from?" Stiles tried to grin through the distrustful stares he was receiving, "You're welcome to tag along if you want to make sure she finds her way." He was pleased when the woman merely sighed, resigning herself that he didn't seem to be a threat and explaining what store she had seen her family shopping in. With a good idea of their destination in mind they started their way, "Well little Alpha, let me tell you about all the awesome benefits of being Catwoman."

* * *

Derek held out a small stack of shirts toward his son, smiling hopefully at Isaac's bored expression, "These might not be so bad. Look! This one has a wolf on it." Isaac held up the shirt to view the graphic spread across the light blue fabric, giving his dad a glance that reminded Derek every so often he had no idea what he was really doing.

"Why don't we try shopping another day? Maybe Aunt Lydia can take you next time." Derek breathed out, already tired with the failure of the shopping trip and ready to admit defeat. He just didn't have it in him to complete theses shopping trips and he could already hear Lydia's voice ringing in his head that he should have just consulted her to begin with.

The ten-year-old grinned, nodding his agreement, "That would be awesome; she always knows the best places!"

Derek couldn't help but scoff lightly as he ruffled Isaac's hair affectionately, "That's because your Aunt is a shopping Nazi and every shop keeper in a hundred mile radius treats her like their business depends on her approval."

Moving a small stack of shirts out of the way and slipping on his Beacon Hills Lacrosse jersey he looked up at his father with an innocent glance, "Aunt Lydia said they do depend on her approval." Derek groaned, his hand sliding across his face as he ushered Isaac from the fitting rooms. Isaac complied easily, eager to move onto more interesting things in the day, jogging up to the checkout counter and giving the store clerk a shy smile as Derek followed close behind to pay for the few items they had been able to agree on. Derek offered an apologetic glance at the woman as she eyed the larger stack of clothes that had been dismissed.

"Clothes shopping is never easy with kids, huh?" The girl offered, ringing up their purchase while eyeing Derek a little more than necessary, making him a shift uncomfortably as he tried to focus his attention elsewhere. He looked back toward the rest of the store, calling Erica's name softly knowing her wolf ears would pick up his voice before his ears picked up the distinct lack of his daughters heartbeat. He tried not to let his eyes bleed red in panic as he turned back to Isaac and the woman folding their purchases into a bag.

"Have you seen my daughter?" He tried not to let a thousand bad scenarios run rampant through his head as he was given twin negative answers, he tried not to let the world feel like it was crashing down around him as he grabbed Isaac's wrist and pulled him from the store. The physical contact with his son helped keep him in control, helped him focus even though his wolf was doing anything but.

"Dad?" Isacc's soft voice pulled him back as they almost crashed into a kid typing a text into his phone, Derek's hyper aware senses hearing every press of the keys before letting his eyes land on Isaac's calm features as he pulled himself around, "Dad we're gunna find her." His wolf whined, low and urgent behind his teeth as he pulled his son close to him into a crushing hug, Isaac was one half of his whole anchor, the calm, rational and observant Beta that he was. Even at ten years old Isaac seemed beyond his years in wisdom when it came to calming his father's Alpha side, Derek was pretty sure he would have fallen apart years ago without him. Isaac shot his dad a soft smile as he pulled away, pointing in the direction of the pretzel stand down the hall.

"That's probably where she went. You know how she is." Derek couldn't help but make a small huff of a laugh as they resumed walking, still with purpose but with a little less 'fleeing a crime scene' feel to it. His wolf was anxious and his whole body was vibrating with need to transform and find his pup, he could smell her faintly where traces of her touching objects along the way still lingered. He made sure to keep contact with his son, his heartbeat steady in his head as his heart dropped as the stand came further into view. Erica's blond mess of hair was nowhere to be seen and he was having trouble not shifting. His free hand was just starting to reach toward his phone when his ears picked up a familiar giggle and Isaac tugged on his wrist alerting him he wasn't just hearing things out of desperation.

Derek scanned the crowd frantically, his eyes finally resting on Erica's soft blond curls and toothy smile. He could feel himself visibly deflate as his grip on Issac's wrist loosened; "Erica…" the word barely came out a whisper, relief dripping from every letter of her name.

"Dad, who is she with?" Isaac clenched Derek's hand a little tighter, concern etched onto his face as he stared in Erica's direction making Derek look past the immediate relief of seeing his daughter safe and sound. Erica was happily clinging to the side of a young man, listening to him ramble on about something or another, her tiny fist balled up in the bright red fabric of his jacket acting for the entire world like she belonged there.

The Alpha didn't even realize he had been growling until Isaac softly whispered that people were starting to notice, moving around Derek like he was parting the red sea itself, a regular werewolf Moses he was turning out to be. It turned out his new found biblical powers were something he would have to examine later, as he was currently stalking toward the man holding his daughter with murderous intent, in fact his wolf was thinking of all the ways he could turn him into some kind of nutritious meal for his pack while Derek himself was thinking about just ripping him limb from limb and leaving him as some sort of example for anyone who ever wanted to touch either of his children again. See if they went shopping again anytime soon.

About 20 feet away from the red hooded child-napper, a wonderfully timed air conditioner vent decided to kick into action and sweep the mans' smell directly into Derek's nose. A moment later he found himself standing dead in the middle of the mall, staring into a pair of honey brown eyes that he was pretty sure a compass could get lost in, while his wolf was practically trying to chew every last shred of self-control he possessed in his life into mush. His entire thought process was repeating a few choice words over and over in his head like a mantra.

**_HOME._**

**_MATE. _**

**_MINE._**

For a minute Derek was pretty sure he actually felt jealous of his four year old daughter, who was still hanging from this guy's hip like she had been there her whole life. Seriously, where were his priorities right now? Oh that's right, they were sitting up in the tree that Derek suddenly wanted to climb, that tree just happened to look suspiciously like a 20 something year old male who was holding his daughter like Derek was going to eat her.

Erica, being the ever persistent four year old she was, brought the (extremely) awkward moment to an end, fixing her brown eyes on Derek's, her wolf flashing through in a show of amber, "Daddy, this is Stwles. He's coming home with us."

Derek was pretty sure his life was over.


	2. I see fire in your eyes

**Chapter revised as of 11/23/12**

**One thing I need to do really fast is thank my absolutely amazing Beta, Fwalandra. Chapter one would have been crap without her reading it over and being like "You derp with your run on sentences. Stawp that." Thank's sis, you're the best. 3 **

* * *

Stiles had only wanted to pick out a new shirt or two, the seasons were changing and his winter wardrobe was in serious need of some updating. One day Stiles intended to learn that his life never works the way he anticipated. Pulling his favorite red zip-up hoodie a little closer to him and hugging the small girl seated on his hip a little tighter to him as they walked down the cluttered hallway he continued to chatter on to his newfound captivated audience, "And that's why you want to be Catwoman. Adventurous, dangerous, graceful, I mean it doesn't really get any better than that in the world of female crime fighting."

Stiles got a spaced out grin on his face as he imagined himself playing the role of Batman, swooping down from rooftops, scaring all the baddies away with his intimidating form as Erica nodded sagely while still clinging to him tightly, "I'll be Catwoman and you can be Batman! We can fight crime together and everything!"

Stiles laughed along with her, "That's right; Beacon Hills will be the safest town in all of California." He waved his hand in front of them as if imagining the entire world in front of them, "No, the safest in all of the United States! There is nowhere evil can hide with Catwoman Erica and Batman Stilinski in the game!"

He smiled down at her as she giggled happily, "You know you're a pretty awesome tag along little Alpha." Stiles was pretty sure the smile she gave him could put thousands of models to shame, "We better find your fashionably challenged father, Batman is the rescuer of all things, even gone astray school shopping trips."

"Stwles, can we get pwetzles?" Erica's stomach grumbled again as the pretzel stand came into view and the delicious smell of baked goods floated around them. "Little Catwoman, it would be my pleasure to devour multiple salty, cheesy, mouthwatering pretzels with you. At least when we find your dad he can't accuse me of starving you, and hey I gotta have something going for me here." She cheered in joy and victory as he steered them toward the food court.

If there was ever one constant in Stiles life it was that anything he sincerely didn't want to happen was going to not only take place, but be thirty times worse than he ever could have anticipated. So cosmic humor aside it was only fitting that as soon as Stiles mentioned finding Erica's father he felt twin holes being burned into his subconscious and looked up to find the most angry (hot) guy with the most intense (ly sexy) brooding eyebrows he's ever seen in his life giving him the most intimidating (ly attractive) glare he's ever received in his life.

It was one of those glares that screamed this-shouldn't-turn-you-on-because-it's-the-last-thing-you're-ever-going-to-see. Stiles was positive that wasn't how he was supposed to read it, but hey, he'll take the small pleasures in life where he can get them. And then the guy was stalking toward him, could people ooze murderous intent? Was that a thing? Yeah, he was going to die.

Erica seemed to notice Stiles lack of talking, or maybe she noticed the fact that he had stopped moving toward the sweet smelling food, and tugged at his hoodie strings slightly. He jumped slightly, realizing suddenly that he didn't actually know if this guy was Erica's father or not, she certainly didn't seem to notice him approaching them. Pulling her tiny frame to his body he mustered the bravest stance he could come up with, using his father's infamous 'I'm-the-sheriff-and-you-will-listen-to-every-word-I-say-because-the-law-says-so' stare.

Which failed.

Horribly.

At least Stiles thought it failed horribly, or maybe it legitimately worked? In any case he was pretty damn surprised when the guy stopped a good 20 feet in front of him with this dumbstruck hungry look on his face, staring at Stiles like he had transformed into a magical jungle gym. He almost checked to make sure he still had arms, and he might have actually done so if he wasn't still clutching Erica like both of their lives depended on him keeping ahold of her.

"Daddy, this is Stwles. He's coming home with us." Chalk one up to nerves of steel for Catwoman, Stiles was never going to have to look for another sidekick as long as he- did she say coming home with us? Stiles flailed slightly, almost dropping Erica in the process who just gave him an exasperated look before looking back to the brooding chunk of muscles that was apparently her father. A four year old was exasperated with him; his life was clearly a sitcom.

"Y-you must be Erica's father. I found her, well, rather she found me. I mean, we found each other?" Stiles slid his free hand that wasn't securing Erica down his face, making a small frantic noise, "That sounded really bad. Look, I'm sorry about what is obviously a huge misunderstanding. We were just looking for you." He reached out his hand toward Broody eyebrows, hoping to clear the extremely awkward moment up before his verbal diarrhea could do any further damage. "I'm Stiles."

Stiles flinched slightly as what he could only guess was a soft choking noise escaped from the capital of broodiness and he pulled his hand back, feeling a little embarrassed. "Ok, so…I guess I should go? I should go." Stiles moved to set Erica on the floor, looking at her a little sheepishly as he did so. "Looks like this is where we part ways Catwoman, I promise pretzels another time. We can get two apiece and feast like kings."

Any doubts Stiles ever had about tall, dark and eyebrows being Erica's father faded as she gave him the same glare he had received a few moments prior to when his newly called 'Sheriff-Stilinskis-perfected-stare-of-badassness' actually worked. "Daddy!"

Stiles couldn't help but grin as she stomped her way over to where her family stood, fixing her small eyes on him and pointing back at Stiles (who immediately thought about running before this escalated further), "Stwles is coming home with us."

"For dinner." Another soft voice chimed in as an older boy came out from behind Erica's father, eyeing Stiles with an interesting look in his eyes, "As a thank you gift for making sure Erica found her way back to us. Right, dad?"

Quickly running through what the statistics could be of dinner being code for 'Take-him-home-and-eat-him-alive-for-invading-our-family' he smiled uncomfortably, "You guys really don't have to do that, I mean it really wasn't a big deal. It's just another random good deed from local hero Stiles Stilinski." Grinning awkwardly he shuffled back and forth on his feet, trying not to fidget just wasn't in the cards when you were getting the fourth degree stare down from someone who looked like they just walked out of a playgirl.

"Dad?" The boy nudged his father with his shoulder, breaking whatever trance had apparently been cast over him as he looked at Stiles with wild eyes. "Dad, give him our number so we can set up a time." Stiles almost couldn't help but be interested in the little family, he had never seen eyes with such feral depths. Part of him knew he should just walk away, but man was he ever a sucker for doing the opposite of what he was supposed to do.

"Daddy pweeeeeese." Erica whined, her little hands wrapping around a few of Stiles fingers and tugging him closer to her family. Yeah, he was definitely giving in here.

Stiles sat down in the middle of the floor, ignoring the strange looks he was getting from the other patrons of the mall as he pulled out a small notebook he always carried around with him wherever he went. He scratched at the paper for a moment with the cartridge of a pen he found in his back pocket before handing the small page to Erica. "Here is my number; you keep good care of that little Alpha."

Giving an affectionate pat to the top of Erica's head he ignored the strangled noise from her father and smiled back at the boy, "It was nice meeting you all, I've got a diner date with my dad or I would stick around." It wasn't exactly a lie, he knew his dad was most likely sneaking towards the local diner this late in the day and Stiles had a personal duty to intervene.

But he still had to try not to trip over his own feet at the heart crushing sound of Erica trying to chase him down and the piercing stare from the green gold eyes following his every move.

* * *

The Hale pack collectively sulked through the doors of their home. Erica was clutching Stiles phone number protectively and glaring at Derek whenever he would so much look at her, finally settling into the living room tracing a clawed fingertip over the numbers. Isaac, being the ever concerned son was watching Derek and Erica with borderline amusement, making side comments about how he had been taught the Hales always repaid their debts. Derek scowled as he leaned his hands against the kitchen counter with enough force that he had angry red lines across his palms when he finally pulled away.

Sitting down beside Erica and pulling her onto his lap into a tight hug he sighed softly into her hair as she squirmed, still angry with him. "You scared me today." She stilled, eventually returning the hug and nuzzling against his shoulder. "You can't just walk off like that. If something happened to you…" He trailed off uncomfortably, knowing the four year old had no idea of what really could have happened, but she could smell his fear radiating off him in waves and her wolf whined.

"I'm sorry Daddy." They smiled, understanding each other. Derek had always had a good relationship with his children, even if he was awkward and unsure about how to be a good dad he held up to the position phenomenally. He glanced at Erica's balled up hand as they pulled away, he could still smell Stiles all over the paper even with Erica smothering it. His heart picked up and he had to close his eyes a moment to keep his calm.

"Here Daddy," Erica held the paper out to him, jumping down from his lap before petting his leg affectionately. "I'm going to go play with Isaac." She was almost completely out of the room before she turned around, giving Derek a venomous look, "Promise you'll call Stwles." He stared down at the paper for a minute, nodding but not looking at the angry pup, "Yeah baby, I'll call."

That seemed to satisfy her enough and she padded swiftly from the room. Derek let one of his hands pull at his hair, easing the slow build of pressure he felt behind his temple. He knew the kids would occupy themselves, Isaac was old enough that he had taken to responsibly watching his younger sibling from time to time when he sensed Derek needed some time to himself. He smiled gratefully when Isaac looked up from Erica's newest puzzle she had strewn across the floor before making his way upstairs and into his own bedroom.

Derek let out a frustrated sigh as he sank down onto his bed, if there was ever an award given for worst day ever he was positive he was going to have to build a room to house them all. He wasn't going shopping again for the rest of his life if he could help it. He listened to the sounds of the house around him, hearing Erica chattering away happily downstairs to Isaac about how great Stiles was and how he had dubbed her the Catwoman to his Batman.

He was clearly outnumbered when it came to the entire situation; the kid's wolves sensed the bond right away, leaving him without a doubt that his senses were correct. It was Stiles whom had attracted Erica from halfway across a busy mall with hundreds of other smells around her. Stiles, who actually tried to protect the four year old werewolf from him when he wasn't sure of Derek's intentions, Stiles, whose scent was lingering all over the paper sitting in Derek's pocket with the chicken scratched phone number that Derek already knew by heart.

Mates.

His entire life was a nightmare. His finger pads scratched over the keys on his phone and he sighed again, pulling the speaker up to his ear and listening to it crackle to life. Counting the rings silently he smiled softly as a familiar female voice rang in his ears, "What's happening Der, Kids driving you crazy?" He could hear her shuffle around, probably pulling a balancing act with her phone while trying to do a thousand other things.

He huffed as he let himself fall back against his pillows, "You could say that. Look, Laura…" he paused, running his fingertips through his hair and closing his eyes like he couldn't believe what he was about to say, "I need your advice."

Laura's smile was practically audible through the speaker, "Der, you never ask for advice. Must be serious?" Her tone leveled, concern flowing through, "Are the kids ok….is it..?"

Derek was thankful she left the question unasked, he wasn't sure he would ever be ready to broach that subject, "No…It isn't about her. I took the kids shopping earlier and Erica wandered off, scared me to death. I almost tore the mall apart trying to find her." Laura's soft laugh echoed through his bedroom making his own lips turn up into a soft smile.

"So what, you need parenting advice on how to punish your werewolf daughter? Man Der, how do you manage without the pack right behind you 24/7?"

"It's not that. She…" He let out another frustrated sigh, "I found her with this guy." The connection shuddered briefly, Laura's low growl rumbling through as she squeezed her phone tighter, "He didn't do anything to her, so please don't break your phone when I really need you right now." He couldn't keep the edge out of his voice, his wolf was still right at the surface nipping agitatingly at his patience. As if he wasn't getting badgered enough for letting his mate walk away.

He could hear Laura waiting on the other end for him to continue, he rarely asked for help as it was and before he could even explain the situation he had Laura with her hackles up. Derek could imagine the rest of the pack poking their noses in to the room around her, offering comfort and calming her wolf. He debated briefly on just calling back, but he knew it would be public knowledge sooner or later so he might as well bite the proverbial bullet sooner rather than later. "It's just that I think…ok, I know…Laura, this guy is my Mate." The connection became scratchy again, followed by Laura's surprised cry and what Derek could only assume was a scramble for the phone as Lydia's voice took over.

"Did I just hear that my four year old niece found your mate for you? Derek seriously, you really need to work on your pick up skills, haven't you learned anything from me." Derek covered his face with his hand managed to convincing himself not to suffocate himself with his pillow, if he didn't know what kind of wrath he would be facing he would have hung up and spared himself.

"Lydia, so nice of you to take over for my sister, any chance of getting her back?" Lydia scoffed, "Absolutely not, now, onto business. Is he another wolf?" Derek could hear Laura's giggle in the background and he growled broodingly, "Traitor. No, he isn't a wolf."

"Please tell me you didn't just pick the kids up and run off. Derek, I need to hear you tell me you at least got his email address, a name maybe?" He could hear Laura dissolve into full blown laughter

"I'm not a Neanderthal Lyds, I have some tact to thank the guy who watched over my child." He lied, thankful she couldn't pick up his heartbeat through the phone. He knew he should have checked if Lydia was home before he called.

"Oh please, knowing you, you probably stood there and stared him down until he walked away uncomfortably. You're about as good with words as Jackson is with people. Now, tell me the full story or I'll make Erica tell me all about it. Actually, that's a fantastic idea. Laura and I will be over in an hour." The resounding click and silence from the receiver in his hand sentenced Derek to the finality of his fate, groaning into the pillow he had worked over his face as Lydia had been talking.

He was definitely building that extra room.


	3. Under my skin

**A.N: something i wanted to touch on is inbetween the time it took me to post chapter three, i rewrote/edited the first two chapters. It isn't anything major enough that you -have- to reread to understand later chapters, but there are scenes that were not there before. also, this chapter is un-betaed, all mistakes are my own, feel free to point mistakes out to me.**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, you're all fantastic and all of you wonderful people are what's keeping this story going. Anyone interested in updates or just generally following me check out my page at opheliaarkham dot tumblr dot com. **

* * *

Chapter 3

Stiles tapped his straw against the glass of water sitting in front of him, the resounding tinks not even registering in his ears. He was far too deep in thought for anything around him to even compute, the events of earlier in the day replaying over and over again in his mind. Stiles had a problem, that particular problem was that a certain brown eyed giggly blond girl had wormed her way into his heart in under five minutes. He was jittery, which normally he would shrug off without a second thought, (hello ADHD!), but as his leg bounced continually under the table he had to admit, this just felt different. He was almost going out of his mind with…something. It was almost like he had forgotten to do something, but he had replayed his entire day, checked and rechecked his phone calendar book, and even gone as far as to text Scott asking him if they were supposed to meet up later and had come up dry.

He felt like he might be worried, and that bothered him more than the idea that he had forgotten something. It's not like he would be worried about Erica, clearly Stiles didn't let her walk off with some guy she didn't know, then again it's not like Senior Eyebrows seemed to have excellent communication skills or anything. Letting out an exasperated sigh as he let his fingers drum against the table top he tried to think about something else. Something like cats, or going to work, or green gold eyes that had the power to bore into his very subconscious…damn it.

Who stares like that anyway, psychopaths and psychiatrists were the two options that came to mind and Stiles found himself worrying about Erica again. He shook his head, trying to get back onto another topic that didn't revolve around his sudden urgent need for the largest pretzel he could lay hands on. Mr. Broody would probably stare him down if he tried to share a delicious treat like that with his children. Was he seriously grinning over that idea? "Seriously what does that even mean!?"

"It always floors me how lost you can get in your own head kid-o." Stiles nearly jumped out of his skin, coming back into reality where he was sitting in a crowded diner where he was enduring the fact that he had been too late to stop his dad from ordering the greasiest thing off the menu. Reaching over and snatching a few curly fries from his plate he ignored his dad's outraged cry, devouring the red-gold delicious curl of starch.

"Dad, seriously, don't pout. This is practically a civil service. Protecting upstanding police officers like yourself from heart disease, I should get some kind of award." John huffed, pulling his plate a little closer to him and eyeing Stiles ever-moving hands distrustfully.

"Stiles if they ever starting giving you any form of award for 'protecting police officers from themselves'," Stiles chuckled at his dads used of air quotations, "I would end up having to build another addition onto the house just so we wouldn't be homeless." Stiles fingers wiggled precariously toward his dad's side of the table.

"Don't be bitter because I get more curly fries then you, its un-sheriff-like." He winced as his dad took a huge bite from his burger, watching a small puddle of grease drip onto the white plate below, "You're totally having a salad for dinner."

He ignored the pointed glare from the other side of the table as the Sheriff cleared his mouth, "That's cruel and unusual punishment. So besides my diet what else has you so lost in your own head today? Been awhile since you missed an entire one sided conversation about my case work."

The grin on his dads face was more than enough payback for the inevitable salad as Stiles flailed widely he almost knocked his water off the table. "Case work! Tell me about it again! And how did you let me miss that? I'm personally offended you didn't make sure I was involved in that conversation right now!"

John's grin was wicked as he popped another fry into his mouth, "You snooze you lose, Stiles. Maybe I'll tell you all about it all over again if you tell me what's up with you tonight." Stiles shifted in the booth, shooting withering glares in the Sheriffs direction before pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his jaw on his palm.

"This is going to sound weird and you're probably going to yell at me for not calling someone." His free hand scrubbed through his buzzed hair as he hunched over the table top, "So I was at the mall today, nothing abnormal just looking for a few new shirts. Scott ditched me for some lame plans with Allison again and I had some free time, but anyway this little girl got lost?"

John gave him a questioning eyebrow raise, "Why do you say that like it's a question? Either she did or didn't get lost."

Waiving his hand back and forth he gave his dad an exasperated look, "Yeah, yeah, do or do not; there is no try. I know the drill, just let me finish the story and you'll understand about as much as I do."

He sighed again, thinking back to earlier in the day and how off-kilter his entire day had seemed since meeting Erica, "It was weird dad; she said she was looking for me. She wasn't like any four year old I've ever seen; she was super smart, really with the game." Home and sugar, he still didn't even understand what that meant, how could he smell like home to someone he had never met. For that matter how did she even smell him anyway? He had never been a big fan of colognes, he showered almost religiously, and while he did indeed ingest a lot of sugary products he was almost positive he didn't smell like sugar.

"Earth to Stiles?" He jumped again, stupid ADHD letting him wander off from his own story. Rude.

"Ok, so she said she was looking for you. She's four; don't you maybe think you're reading too much into it? Obviously you didn't call someone, you found her parents I assume?" Was it too soon to just smash his head into the nearest blunt object? He knew where this story was leading and he was having a hard time not imagining super expressive eyebrow man in his head as it was, I mean you could have cut him from marble. People that attractive shouldn't be allowed to exist; he had been firmly promised by the internet that all celebrities were photoshopped.

"We found her dad, yes. He looked super angry, like 'I-will-end-your-life-for-kidnapping-my-child' angry. But then he just…" Stiles paused, imagining the scene in his head and using wild arm gestures to explain it to his father, "Stopped? It was straight up Irresistible Force Paradox; the unstoppable force met an immovable object." Stiles couldn't help the sarcastic grin that pulled up the corner of his lips, "I just never imagined the immovable object to be air."

His fingers resumed their drumming on the table top, he felt uncomfortable in his own skin, like something had been ripped from him before he even had a chance to understand what it was to begin with. Rubbing his arm absentmindedly he continued on, "I never heard him speak, Erica kept trying to convince him that I should go home with them. It was cute, definitely endearing. But this guy just stared at me like I had grown an extra head." His hand rested over the spot on his arm he had been rubbing, enjoying the heat from the friction, "It wasn't an awkward stare either, and he looked like he had been hit with some sort of epiphany brick."

John pinched his fingers to his temple, "Epiphany brick? Really Stiles?" The younger Stilinski simply shrugged, trying not to feel the itching under his skin. He was trying harder then he should have ever had too to forget the eyes burning into him. It was like he had been branded by that stare and short of climbing the wall and not taking his Adderall for a week he was almost convinced the feeling would never leave.

"You sure you're ok, kid? You look like you're really letting this thing get under your skin." Stiles couldn't hold back the laughter, his breath coming in short heaving gasps as he clutched his stomach, one hand on the table occasionally rising toward his dad. Calming down enough to get a few words out as he swiped at the corner of his eyes.

"Oh dad, you have no idea."

* * *

Lydia was nothing if not punctual, so when she told Derek that Laura and herself would be arriving in an hour and she walked in like she owned the place in exactly fifty-eight minutes, the grin she slotted into place was genuine.

"Derek, it's always so nice to visit knowing you'll have a steaming cup of tea waiting with my name on it." Her hand found its way to her hip as her eyes searched him expectantly, ignoring his furrowed eyebrows and general moodiness. He may be her Alpha but etiquette would always rule out over fancy titles.

Derek's pinched expression softened as his sister walked into his home, "Lydia, don't you think you could have settled for hearing the story over the phone?" Her laugh was short as she accepted the cup of tea set on the counter for her, passing another over to Laura with a brief soft smile.

"Derek please, it's just an excellent excuse for the pack to get together since neither Laura nor I can figure out why you won't just build a house out on pack lands." Laura smiled softly as she placed her hand on Derek's shoulder, their eyes meeting for a moment. Derek smiled appreciatively, out of everyone in his pack Laura had always had the most faith in him and turning to her was easier then breathing some days.

"Der knows what he's doing Lyds," Laura turned back toward her mate, giving her that understanding glance that spoke volumes, "I don't blame him for wanting some privacy. It's not like being a single dad is easy as is, I think he just want's time to raise the kids right without the entire pack putting their two cents in." They bumped shoulders affectionately, the mood in the room was easy and playful, all bark and no bite.

"Well, I came here for story time and I expect I won't be disappointed." Lydia's face softened at the pinched look on Derek's face, the pain from his all too recent divorce still evident behind his eyes. "Der, It's a big deal, Mates are so rare." The strawberry blond placed her hand softly on his arm, trying to soothe him, "Especially as an Alpha, it really is fantastic news."

Derek let out a long exasperated sigh as he pulled away from the two betas, making his way over to the large wooden table that took up a vast majority of the kitchen and pulling out his favorite chair. Green gold eyes met the blue and hazel ones that stared back at him as he tried not to think about the small scrap of paper in his pocket, taunting him with untold possibilities. The sound of footsteps drew the adults attentions away from the immediate subject at hand as a flash of blond curls rounded the corner followed by Isaac's cheeky grin as his Aunt's came into view.

"Awnt Lydia!" Erica practically climbed her way into Lydia's outstretched arms as she knelt down to swoop her little niece in the air, "Awnt Lydia I gotta tell you about Stwles!"

Isaac made his way over to Laura who immediately pulled him into a hug, smiling as his smaller arms curled around her and his head leaned against her side. It was an easy position for the pair since Laura had always been closer to a maternal figure in the pups lives than the traditional aunt figure. "Dad totally froze today." His voice was soft with an undertone of amusement, "I had to invite Stiles over for dinner for him."

Derek groaned, moving so his hands covered his face, feeling Lydia's triumphant smirk and knowing she was mentally chalking another point up on her "Times Lydia has been right about everything" board. His whole body sagged as his wolf started anxiously nipping at his heels, the bond thrumming in his skull, persistent but dull enough he could still focus. "Way to call your old man out Isaac, why don't you and Erica just tell them all about it."

"Oh yes, I want to hear all about your little mall trip." Laura tousled Isaac's hair, laughing as he swatted at her hands. Pushing a dark strand of hair away from her face she moved her hand onto Isaac's shoulder and began steering him toward the table, Lydia following suit with Erica shortly after. Even the broody look on Derek's face couldn't ruin the content, easy feel the pack had when it was together; they all fit perfectly like a giant jigsaw.

When Laura had found her mate in Lydia the pack gained a spark they never knew had been missing in the first place. True Mates were not only rare, but sacred in modern packs. A pack with one Mated pair was stronger for the bond; a pack with two mated pairs was almost unheard of, but almost always unbreakable. Derek couldn't help but wonder what kind of strengths someone like Stiles would bring them; he smiled into the palm of his hand at the possibilities.

Erica bounced excitedly as Lydia shifted the four year old onto her lap, clearly happy to have a new captive audience, "Stwles is great, he smells like sugar and home and says I'm Catwoman and he's Batman!" Twirling a piece of Lydia's hair in her tiny fingers she grinned proudly, "We're gunna protect all of the world and eat pwretzles!"

Lydia grinned back at Derek, "So he really is your mate then? I can smell him all over her." Erica beamed back at her, pulling the back of her tiny hands to her nose, trying to pick out Stiles scent anywhere on her.

Laura scooted a little closer to the Alpha, pulling one of his larger hands into hers and smiling warmly, one of those special smiles she saved just for him. "You know what I smell, I smell acceptance and pack." Her hands squeezed his, Derek let out a soft strangled noise as his wolf calmed for the first time all day, "I think he's going to be really good for you, Der."

"I won't be good for him." He closed his eyes as his wolf whined, the mood shifting dangerously as Lydia bristled noticeably from across the table.

"Erica sweetie," The redhead Beta's eyes flashed with warning, her own wolf urging her furiously into action, "why don't you and Isaac go play outside for a while, your father and I need to have a talk." She set the girl carefully on solid ground, ignoring the pointed concerned looks being flashed in her direction from her mate.

Erica huffed and whined lightly, "But I wanna tell you about Stwles some more. We didn't even tell you about the whole trip!" Her foot stomped on the ground as she flashed pleading looks to whoever would meet her eyes, finally settling on her elder brother who stood up and made his way over to her.

Isaac tugged at her hand from where it had become entwined in Lydia's shirt, "Come on sis, I'll teach you to use your senses some more, you can show Aunt Lydia and Aunt Laura how awesome you've gotten after some practice." He guided her toward the kitchen door, shooting something akin to a you-owe-me-big glance at the adults before urging Erica out of view.

They each listened to Erica's whines as they faded softly, both of the females at ease as soon as the front door clicked softly shut and the sounds of the two betas starting their training could be filtered into the background. Derek, however, tensed noticeably, Lydia's eyes finding his immediately and flashing a dangerous amber. Their wolves danced under their skin, anxious and demanding, the mood becoming more unstable in the room. "You cannot keep blaming yourself, Derek."

Lydia refused to back down when Derek's eyes flashed red, warning her off the sensitive subject. "No, you aren't just going to flash your red eyes at me and act like this is something you don't need to talk about. We've given you time Der, you need to heal and move on." Laura's hand found her way into hers and she squeezed back reassuringly.

"She ruined me Lyds, I tried to give her everything and she ruined me." The Alpha wolf was steady under the surface of his subconscious, transferring strength into him even if Derek sounded utterly broken as he spoke. "How am I supposed to just rebuild after that?"

Lydia's harsh laugh barked through the kitchen, "You take advantage of the fact that you're a strong Alpha, blessed with a thriving pack that has members stretched into three different counties of California, who has two amazing children and apparently a true Mate." Her tone continued to be harsh, even though her eyes were softer as she stared him down, "You count yourself lucky, because where other packs are worrying about being hunted down, we have the luxury of staying under the radar and arguing over what we should have for dinner, we have the security of sending our pups to schools to learn like everyone else instead of teaching them to claw first as questions later."

The click of high heels on tile resonated through the small kitchen as Lydia stood and went to her Alpha, turning him to face her and placing both hands on his broad shoulders, "Der, you're going to be great for him just like he's going to be great for you, for us and for the kids. Two mated pairs in one pack, and you're worried about some uptight bitch who never loved you anyway." Laura's arms came from behind them, pulling them both close to her and resting her head on Derek's back.

They stayed like that for a long time, letting their wolves soak in the comfort of being near each other, the reminder that they had it better than most packs hanging heavy in the air around them. Lydia always had a way of keeping things in perspective, she was every bit the alpha female that the Hale pack had desperately needed. Derek thrived as Alpha with her constant support, finding time and time again that having a Beta brave enough to confront him was not only invaluable to the harmony of the pack but also critical to making sure the decisions he made were not wholly selfish.

"I don't know what I'm doing guys, I don't know how to do this." Derek's admission caught them both off guard, both staying close to him a few moments longer before pulling away to Lydia's let's-get-down-to-business smile.

"Oh Der, that's what me, my excellent fashion advice, and date planning are here for." The trio laughed, the mood resuming its previously lost cheer as a phone was forced into Derek's trembling hands.


	4. Dinner dates and responsibilities

**AN: First off this chapter is unbeta'd, so mistakes are my own, feel free to point them out at your leisure.**  
**Secondly let me address Boyd for a moment, I wanted to do something different, a lot of times I see Boyd left out of the equation for one reason or another and I didn't want to do that. To clear up any confusion beforehand, Boyd is not mute, he simply doesn't talk. This will be explained later, but one piece I am willing to give away is that Boyd is Stiles adopted cousin, in case anyone wonders what/how that connection has formed.**

**One other quick note and I'll let you all move on to the actual story, I intend to update more often. I just moved 14 hours away from my home and my current living situation isn't really conductive to good writing flow. I apologize to all of you if updates don't come swiftly, this should be remedied in the coming weeks. If you're looking for updates on the story in the mean time you can always check out my tumblr, which is linked in my profile. I try to post on there about how im coming along with story progress on a semi regular basis.**

**transferring**** from Ao3**

* * *

"I can't do this."

Lydia sighed, her face showing her true exasperation as Derek set the phone down for the fifth time. "Derek Hale, if you don't pick up that phone I will call Jackson over to this house and force you both to be civil to each other for as long as it takes to get my point across. Now pick up that phone, dial your mates number, and you invite him over to the dinner I have spent the last thirty minutes carefully constructing and planning." The planner in her hand snapped closed with a loud pop, a sinister smile playing on her face as the Alpha nervously eyed the phone again.

"I just don't think-"

"And that's your problem! Thinking! Clearly you aren't the brains behind 'how to woo a werewolf 101', that would be me and my excellent dating advice. Which, I might add, you are stubbornly refusing to take. Now…" Amber eyes flashed toward him, an already ringing phone placed into his hands, "Talk. To. Your. Mate." Lydia's clear enunciation had her alpha's nervousness spiked to the limit, but before he even had a chance to protest another threat filtered into his ears and his breath caught in his throat.

"Do you generally threaten people with soy products?" He was going to berate himself for that opening line later, right after Lydia was done doing it for him.

"When my peppers are involved, always. And who questions my undeniably perfect threating techniques?" Derek's grin was infectious and Laura and Lydia exchanged amused glances across the table, their werewolf hearing picking up Stiles sarcastic style with ease.

"This is Derek, you uh…gave my daughter your number earlier today." The sound of his Mate's coughing suddenly had him clutching the phone a little tighter, panic creeping into his tone, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." The sound of Stiles inhaling deeply sounded through Derek's end of the phone and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, "I just have this thing where I forget how to function as a normal human adult every once in a while and my body and I fight for control, naturally I always win. So uh, you're eyebrow man huh?" The beta's next to him burst into laughter, making him grimace as his attempt to glare them into submission failed miserably. "What did you call me?"

"Eyebrow man? I mean, come on dude, have you seen your eyebrows? You could write novels with those things, command armies to battle with a simple raise of those impressive arches. But alas, it turns out you do know how to talk, so all my ideas about your lack of communication have come down to much less interesting possibilities." By this point the girls were inconsolable, Laura actually partly falling out of her chair as she shook from laughing. Derek couldn't help but smile as he watched Lydia brush away a tear from her eye, "So, Derek? What can I do for you?"

Really, asking someone to dinner shouldn't be as hard as he was making it, but something about having to choke the words out had his brain short circuiting. Lydia sensed the moment Derek stared to shut down, putting her business face back on and silently commanding him to complete the purpose of his call. "I…uh, well I thought we agreed on dinner?" He groaned at Lydia's expression, "I mean, we didn't agree on it, but Erica was hoping…" Derek jumped as Lydia's fist slammed down on the table.

"Derek Hale don't you dare use your daughter as an excuse!" His hand covered the phone, doing his best to silence the infuriated redhead, "You aren't helping!" He hissed out, eyes flashing crimson.

"I'm helping plenty, grow a pair and stop skating around the question!" Amber eyes met his red, not wavering in conviction.

"Come on Der, just ask him, he's waiting." Laura chimed in, a huge smile threatening to break her suddenly serious features.

"Ok, ok…" He breathed out in defeat, "I was hoping you would like to come over for dinner."

Twenty minutes and a mostly confirmed dinner date later Derek was begging his beta's out his door, the woods long dark around them as Erica and Isaac said their good byes.

"Is Stwles really coming for dinner Daddy?" Erica's fingers wrapped around his as they piled on the massive couch centering their living room. "Awnt Laura said so, and she never lies about anything."

Derek enjoyed the feel of the couch pulling him and the kids in, Isaac curled against one side and Erica huddled into the other, the push and pull of the bond quieting. "Sunday we're having dinner here at the house," he cut off both of the kids excited cheers, "On one condition."

Isaac's blue eyes rolled at his father, "No glowing eyes, no claws, best behavior, no weird talk that makes people ask questions." Erica's light yawns drew both their attention away from the normal 'having-non-wolves-over' conversation.

"I think it's bedtime. Go up and get ready, take your sister and I'll follow in a minute." Isaac grumbled for a moment, making a side comment about not being sleepy as he yawned, pulling Erica along with him up the stairs. Derek's head fell against the couch, fingers caressing the now worn piece of paper in his pocket as a sarcastic voice played in his head.

* * *

The Stilinski household was generally never very quiet, Stiles was always loud as a child and his early 20's were really no different, but today was one of those rare days where the house stayed still and life just kind of happened around them. John and Tera Stilinski had always been firm that they were a one child household, not because Stiles himself was a handful, but because Tera's pregnancy was a miracle to begin with, but things happen that no one expects. Stiles traced a fingertip over his mother's face, smiling back at him from the silver laced frame as he let his mind wander off from the events of the day. He could hear the sounds of his dad coming in and moving around downstairs, one of those thankful nights that Beacon Hills let sleeping dogs lie and the good Sheriff got to remain at home. The last rays of sun blinked over the town and cast the room and the soft peach of Stiles skin to a rusty gold, "Hey mom." The picture frame clinked softly as it was gingerly set down on the table top, fabric rustling as he repositioned himself into an uncomfortable slouching position without breaking eye contact with the all too familiar brown eyes captured on paper.

"Nothing really to report today, mom. I'm a sucker for kids, I'm apparently still having that 'Might be gay' crisis," He continued on, ignoring the lack of reply with years of schooled practice, "Dad is having a salad for dinner, I'm thinking of resorting to tofu products to teach him a lesson for over indulging." Honey brown eyes drifted away from their matching set as the soft creek of the bedroom door being pushed open flowed into the room. Stiles waited silently, his eyes darting back towards his mother's smiling face before letting a soft grin of his own take over, the sound of bare footsteps barely audible even in the dead silence of the room.

He shifted as the sleeve of his red hoodie was tugged away from his body, moving so the small pair of brown eyes gazing back at him could see he was paying attention, "Hey Boyd, did you have a good day at Mrs. Geldenstine's?" The small boy in front of him nodded, moving Stiles arm away from him when he reached out to rub his head affectionately. "Hey now, rule number one, no pushing Stiles, who is still the coolest cousin in existence, away." Boyd grinned back at him, a mocking smile resting on his features as he reached up with his arms, motioning for Stiles to pick him up. Pulling the boy into his arms as he stood and putting on his best 'Srs-business' face Stiles began his track downstairs to ensure a healthy meal for everyone, "And you played nice with Matt today, yes?" He ignored the pointed dirty look from the five year old, waiting until he had a positive head nod before setting him down and grabbing some ingredients from the fridge.

"Dad," Stiles yelled into the living room where the soft sounds of a clearly loosing football team were sending John into somewhat of a frenzy, "Help Boyd set the table. Dinner is gunna be done in about 20 minutes and I don't want to have to drag you in here." He emerged from the fridge bearing an armful of fresh vegetables and package of chicken, wiggling his eyebrows at Boyd who was leaning against the counter with an amused expression on his face. "I see you making fun of me with those expressive eyes of yours, careful or you'll be having salad along with Uncle John." Stiles grinned at the unimpressed expression he received, moving toward the counter on the other side of the room.

The vegetables tumbled onto the countertop with a dull thud as they were deposited unceremoniously from Stiles arms, more than one pepper making a valiant attempt at escape before getting chased down by Boyd who was always eager to help with food preparations. John shuffled in soon after; a defeated air around him as he gathered up the remaining escaped food before pulling Boyd's high chair out of the closet. "What seat do you want to sit in tonight kid-o?" Both Stilinski's hid twin grins as Boyd raced over to the chair he knew Stiles always favored, jumping into the one next to it with a pearl white grin against his dark skin.

The three fell into an easy routine as the sound of Stiles wielding one of the kitchen knives to chop vegetables combined with the sound of boiling water and John and Boyd silently setting silverware and crooked napkins filled the room. "Mrs. Geldenstine said Boyd almost got in another fight today, that Matt kid was causing more problems." John eyed the look Boyd shot him carefully as Stiles let out a weary sigh, "I wish we knew what he was saying to get him all riled up like that."

Stiles stopped the repetitive dicing he was doing, turning his head slightly as he spoke to his father, "Don't push him. He'll talk when he's ready; you're only making him feel worse about it." Awkward silence fell heavy in the air, none of them talking until the sound of one of the chair scraping across the floor as Boyd pulled it out sounded across the small kitchen. "So, any news from Beacon Hills finest?"

A small chuckle breathed out from the Sheriff's lips as he relaxed, pulling out another chair and scooting Boyd's colored pencil set over to him, "Not really, that one problem case gets officially wrapped up tomorrow. Few small domestic disturbances, nothing out of the ordinary, I was thinking about taking some of my vacation days. Taking you and Boyd up to the mountains and just getting some fresh air, I think we could all use a break from this house." A jacket clad arm fell over the back of Johns chair as he stretched out, wincing at the cracking noises his joints made.

The stove turned off with a soft click, followed by the clattering of plates as Stiles portioned everything out in equal three shares, "Yeah, could be nice." His hesitance was clear in his voice, eyes shifting toward Boyd as he moved to set the plates on the table. John knew what he meant was really 'it might be too soon', but neither of them seemed willing to touch on the subject further, and when his plate was set in front of him and his muffled cry of resentment at his obvious larger portion of salad than anything else the subject seemed to be dropped for the night.

They had just started in on dinner, all three of them gathered close together as the two Stilinski discussed various topics, when Stiles cellphone rang, the vibration of the ringer making him practically jump from his seat. "Scott calling to apologize his ass off again? One of these days that boy is going to stop ditching you and regretting it later." John's finger wagged across the table at Stiles, shooting him an affectionate look and making a face a Boyd that sent him into a fit of silent laughter.

"I don't know who it is, no one in my phone book." The itching under his skin picked up and he shifted uncomfortably, "Let me run out and take this, you two keep eating without me." A quick glare was sent across the table as Stiles stood and started walking out, clicking the green answer key and bringing the phone toward his ear, "And if either of you touch a single pepper on my plate I promise you'll be eating Tofu for a week…Hello?"

"Do you generally threaten people with soy products?" The voice on the other end rumbled with an edge of amusement present in his tone.

"When my peppers are involved, always. And who questions my undeniably perfect threating techniques?"

Stiles heard a few questioning ticks of silence go by before the voice returned with a name, "This is Derek, you uh…gave my daughter your number earlier today. Hey, are you alright?" Stiles coughed violently, trying to catch his breath, thanks lungs, it's totally swave to choke on nothing but air when Mr. Sex himself is calling. Must have been that crack about not thinking air could be an immovable force.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." The sound of Stiles inhaling deeply sounded through Derek's end of the phone, "I just have this thing where I forget how to function as a normal human adult every once in a while and my body and I fight for control, naturally I always win. So uh, you're eyebrow man huh?" A chorus of female laughter could be softly heard through the receiver and Stiles briefly wondered if Erica was there listening in.

"What did you call me?" Stiles was pretty sure he at least got points for the fact that Sir Eyebrows, AKA Derek, didn't sound angry, but man something told him he would have loved to candid camera that moment.

"Eyebrow man? I mean, come on dude, have you seen your eyebrows? You could write novels with those things, command armies to battle with a simple raise of those impressive arches. But alas, it turns out you do know how to talk, so all my ideas about your lack of communication have come down to much less interesting possibilities." It occurred to him that the conversation he was having would probably be the most ridiculous one in his life, "So, Derek? What can I do for you?"

"I…uh, well I thought we agreed on dinner?" Derek's groan of something close to mortification sounded through the phone, Stiles immediately decided he would have to examine why that made him unnecessarily weak in the knees as soon as he was out of earshot from the rest of humanity later on. "I mean, we didn't agree on it, but Erica was hoping…" A muffled heated argument sounded out from behind Derek's voice and Stiles couldn't help but strain to hear what was being said, "Ok, ok…I was hoping you would like to come over for dinner."

Peeking his head around the door and seeing his fathers interested glances, Stiles decided he would be better off fully out of earshot and began to jog up the stairs to his room, "Look man, I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to put you out just because your absolutely adorable four year old is conning you into it." Digging his nails a little further into the skin of his arm helped to relieve some of the burning under his skin, the angry red lines forming as he readjusted the phone on his ear, "I mean, you clearly aren't comfortable with this, you really don't have to worry about thanking me."

In truth he was just glad he had a name to go with the face stuck firmly in his subconscious, the voice was just an added plus, and as far as Stiles was concerned that was thanks enough. It's not like he was good at self-preservation anyway, and Derek was totally 'climb-me-like-a-tree-and-then-let-me-rip-your-throat-out-with-my-teeth' sexy, and if that ended with his swift demise it might almost be worth it. "As long as Erica is safe and sound that's really enough thanks for me." The lie slipped easily though his teeth, the buzzing under his skin a little more persistent.

"No, honestly we all want to show you we're thankful for what you did." Derek responded honestly, a hint of blunt relief in his voice, "Erica can be a handful, in more ways then you understand. Let us treat you to a Hale family dinner…this weekend?" Was that a hint of begging? If Derek sex-me-like-an-animal Hale was begging for his company then far be it for him to deny himself the obvious eye candy, besides, he owed a certain four year old a pretzel anyway.

"Yeah, yeah that sounds good." He shuffled awkwardly, nervousness creeping into his tone, "Should I bring anything? Toys, pies, condiments? Dude…are you okay, I thought I was the only one who battled their body." Derek's pained choking filled Stiles ears, "Was it something I said?"

Multiple feminine voices followed the coughing, Stiles face growing beet red as he pulled the phrase 'he said condiments not condoms, you creeper!' from the chorus of laughter, "Ok, so yeah. This weekend, sounds good. Speaking of dinner, I have one…currently, in progress…God now I sound like my dad." He huffed, knowing any sense of dignity was lost on both of them, "So I'm just going to go. You should text me. I mean, you can text me? Jesus, what I mean is thanks for dinner…or the soon to be dinner…or, I…Yeah." He hung up the line with a soft click, trying to save some kind of face as he sank into his chair and his forehead connected with the surface of his desk with a loud thunk.

"All the Adderall in the world can't save me from myself."

* * *

Derek was trying his hardest to make himself fall asleep; he could hear the sounds of both his children's heartbeats, slow and steady, as they slept in their respective rooms lulling him with security. He was never an easy sleeper, being Alpha he forced himself to always be on alert in case his pack needed him. When Isaac was born he didn't sleep properly until he was almost six months old, constantly in and out of the nursery checking to make sure no one had come in and done some kind of harm to his pup. Truth be told he didn't get much better with Erica, and now that he was a single parent it had just gotten worse. Green eyes flickered to his bed stand for the thousandth time, the timed glow from his phone indicating the device was charging taunting him and his indecision.

There were at least seven discarded text messages, half typed and awkward, sitting in his draft box. The hum of the bond stirred under his fingertips and he growled at the sensation, again reaching toward the phone and letting the white light of the screen wash over him and skating his fingers across the keys. The minutes on the clock changed slowly as he stared at the unfinished text as he tried to reach a decision. It really couldn't hurt anything, he reasoned, changing his mind a second too late as he pressed the send key. Lydia was right, he had all the social grace of a grizzly bear, he gets his Mate practically handed into his lap and the best he can come up with is 'Hey.'

The bed shook as he jumped in surprise, his phone vibrating in his hands almost instantly with a response.

**Stiles [ 12:10 AM ]** Yo, wasn't sure I would hear from you.

Derek blinked, a grin stretching across his face as he replied.

**Me [ 12:11 AM ]** Why?

**Stiles [ 12:11 AM ]** Besides the fact we barely know each other?

**Stiles [ 12:11 AM ]** And I kind of hung up on you.

**Me [ 12:11 AM ]** I'm not good with conversation.

**Stiles [ 12:12 AM ]** noted.

**Stiles [ 12:13 AM ]** So…dinner.

**Me [12:13 AM ]** Do you want to?

**Stiles [ 12:14 AM ]** Wanna Fanta?

**Stiles [ 12:15 AM ]** Nevermind, that was a bad joke. Yeah I wanna come to dinner.

Derek's heart jumped a bit at the last message, his eyes skimming it over and over. Maybe this could be okay after all, Stiles actually wanted to come to dinner, the kids already loved him, and if Derek's chest ached at the possibilities then that was no one's business then his own.

**Me [ 12:15 AM ]** good

**Stiles [ 12:17 AM** **]** So what's up? Brooding eyebrows keeping you from sleeping?

**Me [ 12:17 AM ]** I'm concerned about your obsession with my eyebrows.

**Stiles [ 12:17 AM ]** not an obsession. Just a well observated guess.

**Me [ 12:19 AM ]** What the hell does observated mean?

**Stiles [ 12:19 AM ]** If educated and observed had a baby, observated would be that baby.

**Me [ 12:20 AM ]** Goodnight Stiles.

Derek lay back, one arm slung under his head with a content grin on his face. His phone chiming softly as Stiles wished him a good night as Derek examined the pull of the bond under his skin. He waited, feeling it fluxuate, first the steady buzz and then calming into something slower. He enjoyed the calming feeling of the connections steady flow as his Mate slept, the wolf under his skin pulling everything together in an easy fashion.

Derek drifted off, actually letting sleep hit him easily for the first time in months.

His final thought as the world drifted out of focus and he burrowed under the blanket a little tighter being…this just might work after all.


	5. It's just a little itch

AN: Thank you guys so much for waiting around for me to finish this chapter up. Life has been absolutely hectic. I moved from florida to Illinois, back to florida, had to start a new job, lost that job because of corporate BS and had to start another new job. Add some shitty roommate drama in with that and you have a recipe for writers block. Super thanks to my wonderful Reese A.K.A ASilentMurder who has been amazing enough to Beta for me. The last half of this isn't betad because I got random motivation to pound out the last half of this chapter harder then Dean Winchester gets pounded by the supernatural. (Too soon?)

* * *

"This is going to be a disaster." Slightly battered hands flung clothes and hangers across the room in exasperation, "I agreed to this? Why did I agree to this? I feel like a teenage girl. Don't you eye me like that, mister." Boyd shook with laughter, firmly seated in the pile of discarded clothes at the center of Stiles' bed. The two had been raiding his closet for close to half an hour, Stiles' ADHD forcing him into a flurry of indecision as he swapped between feeling like he should dress semi-nice or give in and wear casual clothes. More than once, Boyd's small hands had found Stiles' favorite Batman shirt; Stiles was starting to get the hint.

Somewhere under one of the 'couldn't-wear-this-to-dinner-if-my-life-depended-on-it' piles, the sound of The Doctor commenting on a ringing phone made a muffled plea to be answered, causing a chain reaction starting with Stiles' near-death via Atari controller followed by Boyd jumping into the same pile of clothes cannonball style on top of his older cousin. "Oh god, what is Mrs. Geldenstine feeding you while you're at her house?" His fingers moved swiftly across the touchscreen of his phone, pulling up the incoming text as Boyd shot him an offended glare.

Commodore Eyebrows [ 5:38 PM ] Stop freaking out.

Wide eyes stared at the text looming on his screen, confusion and disbelief dancing across his face. "How in the…" Stiles trailed off as Boyd looked curiously over his shoulder, digging a pointy elbow under Stiles' shoulder blade and making Stiles squirm uncomfortably. "Dude, can you dig that weapon into someone else's soft tissue? You're making me feel like a pin cushion." Boyd's weight shifted, forcing Stiles head further into the pile of laundry underneath him as he slowly tapped out a reply with one eye open.

Me [ 5:40 PM ] You're totally a creeper! How did you even know that?

A quick snap sounded through the room as he slid his keyboard closed, rolling over quickly to catch Boyd off guard before tickling him until he squealed. It wasn't much, but it was a tiny reassurance that Stiles needed every once in awhile to be assured Boyd remembered how to use his vocal cords. His text alert chimed from the floor and he released the giggling child from his torture, "Saved by the bell today, better run off or you won't be so lucky next time."

Stiles smiled as Boyd half crawled, half jumped-up-and-ran from the room with a grin. He watched the door where his cousin had disappeared for a moment before turning his attention back to the state of his room. Stiles groaned as he picked up his phone and favorite batman shirt, shooting a dirty betrayed look at the rest of his clothing.

Commodore Eyebrows [ 5:42 PM ] Maybe I just assumed you're freaking out like I am.

Well damn, how was he supposed to take that? It wasn't like they hadn't been exchanging semi flirty texts most of the week, but in Stiles' book, that was a pretty open admission of interest. The more Stiles tried to ignore the little ball of heat pooling at the bottom of his stomach, the more he felt a bit more panic seep in. This was followed immediately by confusion, because this wasn't really something he was panicking about; if Derek was into him this was great news as far as Stiles was concerned. He sucked in a deep breath, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he started typing his reply.

Me [ 5:46 PM ] Oh come on dude, dinner with me won't be so bad. I might even do the dishes if you ask nicely.

Stiles set his phone on his bed before pulling his worn red hoodie over his shoulders, shivering as the brisk air hit his skin that had previously been warmed by the thick material. Small bumps broke out across his arms and teeth sunk into his lower lip as he made his way across to his door, shutting it with an almost inaudible click. He couldn't stop the small tremor that rocked his body as his nails drug across his chest. It all came back to that odd feeling that had only started that day at the mall, that persistent itch just under his skin where no amount of scratching could sate it. Usually, it was just a dull ache and he had started to ignore it altogether, but right now it was burning like a fire, hot and out of control. Stiles' eyes closed of their own free will as his bare back came to rest against the back of the door, a soft hiss escaping as the cold wood created such a contrast with the warmth that had bloomed in his abdomen that he couldn't help but groan, soft and involuntary.

He had to brace his hand against his nearby desk to keep himself upright as a surge of…something rocked through him, leaving his breath ragged and pupils huge. "The hell is going on with me…" Stiles swallowed, throat dry as he stood up on shaky legs, moving toward the bathroom. Glaring at his reflection in the mirror that yielded no answers, frustrated he stripped the rest of his clothes, reaching over to turn the shower on full blast. The small room was soon filled with steam, fogging the mirror and glass surfaces as he stepped into the blistering stream of water, the needling pain of the heated blast removing the immediate itch in his skin.

Hands roamed his body, scrubbing at patches of dead skin, following with thin layers of soap that made his touches a little less innocent. Warmth bloomed in his stomach again and this time he didn't fight the torrent of arousal that tightened in his gut. Stiles had years of practice with his own body but this hyper-awareness of every single touch and sensation his body experienced was borderline maddening. It was as if things were doubled, and when his hands strayed down past the small dark happy trail that grazed his lower stomach he almost wasn't surprised when he his knees started to give out from under him.

His mind rocked back into awareness, the sound of his phone going off reminding him he had previous obligations outside of the shower, although he could barely hear it above his own labored breathing and the drumming of the water cascading around him.

"Shit."

Moving the dial so the hot water was off he let the icy water wash over him until he had his own body in check. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around himself he jogged into the bedroom, snatching his phone and scrolling through his missed notifications. Two calls from his dad and three missed texts from Derek, and holy hell it was 7:30. Stiles nearly dropped his phone at the realization, craning his head so he could check the time on his computer to verify his phone hadn't popped into some alternate dimension, because there was no way he had just lost an hour and a half of time taking a shower.

The small digital numbers on his screen confirmed his fears, at this rate he was going to have to have someone pry his brain open to make sure he wasn't going crazy. Even with his severe ADHD he had never lost track of huge chunks of his day, it had felt like twenty minutes tops, Derek probably thought he wasn't even coming at this point. Stiles opened his messages, scrolling to Derek's name and pulling up their thread to eye the new texts.

Commodore Eyebrows [ 5:50 PM ] I never said dinner with you would be bad, I'm actually looking forward to it.

Commodore Eyebrows [ 6:03 PM ] You there?

Commodore Eyebrows [ 6:40 PM ] Stiles…

Me [ 7:33 PM ] I'm super sorry, I was in the shower and I lost track of time.

Me [ 7:33 PM ] Hate me if I'm late?

He fumbled through to his missed call, pressing the send key as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Dad? Hey, sorry I missed your call. What's up?" He jiggled his arm around as it stuck in the sleeve of his shirt at an uncomfortable angle, his phone beeping in his ear as he received a text.

"Hey kid-o, I was starting to worry. Listen, I know you have plans tonight, but there was a break in downtown. Turns out civilians got hurt; it's looking like a late night. Can you let Boyd tag along?" Stiles ignored the regret in his dad's voice, it was part of his dad being sheriff that the Stilinski family had gotten used to years ago.

"Yeah, no problem pops. I can't imagine it will be an issue, I think Boyd and Erica are the same age anyway." His arm finally shook free of the sleeve binding and he followed up with a victory cheer that was quickly retracted when he realized his Batman symbol was on the inside against his chest. "Stay safe tonight, we probably won't head home until late." John scoffed at the warning through the phone, making Stiles smile affectionately as they said their goodbyes so he could right his shirt and warn Derek of his plus one.

Commodore Eyebrows [ 7:35 PM ] Just get here, Erica is driving me crazy asking about you.

Me [ 7:43 PM ] Is it okay if I bring my own little rabid zoo animal? My dad is working a late case and my normal sitter is well past her working hours.

Commodore Eyebrows [ 7:43 PM ] You have a kid?

Me [ 7:44 PM ] Not exactly, he's my five year old cousin. He's kind of my dad's ward.

Commodore Eyebrows [ 7:46 PM ] Should be fine. See you soon?

Me [ 7:46 PM ] OMW in 20

Stiles made a grab for his hoodie, shaking it to make sure his keys to his beloved Jeep were still where he left them before heading across the hall to Boyd's room. "Hey punk, feel like meeting some friends of mine? I've been promised a delicious dinner plus one, and I can't think of anyone else more worthy of joining me." He gestured toward the Batman logo on his chest, "After all, I have to reward you for your superb fashion advice." Boyd's grin was answer enough, the youth moving quickly to slip on his light up X-Men shoes and grab his jacket from on top of his bed, high fiving Stiles' outstretched hand as he made it to the door. "That's my main man, ready for adventure as always."

They piled into the Jeep soon after, Stiles making sure the car seat was secured properly as Boyd pointed out potential weak points in Stiles work. When they were finally buckled in, Stiles handed Boyd the reigns to the music, slipping the corded iPod into his hands with a smile. They thumbs-up'd each other as Boyd selected 'Hungry like the Wolf', one of their personal car favorites as the Jeep lurched to life, rolling down the road at a steady pace, the anticipation in Stiles' stomach momentarily forgotten.

* * *

Derek grinned as he looked at the dinner spread out across his kitchen table- it was a dinner fit for kings, to be sure. So what if those kings were a four year old, a ten year old, and two mid-twenties males? He knew Stiles was going to love it. Lydia had drilled into Derek's head how important it was that this dinner date was nothing short of super casual.

"At the end of the night, he needs to walk out that door feeling like he's done this a thousand times. This isn't an awkward first date- this is a normal family dinner with laughter, bad jokes that go over the kids heads, and the obligatory flirting. If you aren't acting like you've been dating for months, you're reading your mate wrong."

He hadn't even bothered to ask her about dining choices, he had just known. The kids, of course, were one hundred percent behind the idea, which really made everything even easier. One of his large hands reached over to the counter to grab the steaming bowl of sautéed onions and peppers, seasoned to topping perfection but placed to the side 'just in case', setting it down by the grilled meat and stack of plates. He figured it would be hard to make this seem like they had done it a thousand times now if he cooked and fed Stiles something he was allergic to. Better safe than sorry.

Erica squealed as he ruffled her hair in passing, her nose taking in all the delicious smells and eyeing the small bags of chips sitting at the head of the table. "Just one bag? I'm hungry nooooow." She whined eagerly, rocking back and forth on the heels of her feet, hands clasping the back of the chair in front of her.

"I suppose you can open one. But if you have a bag now you can't eat with Stiles." Derek smirked into the refrigerator at her outraged cry, grabbing the tub of sour cream and turning to face his grumbling offspring. "I think that would make Stiles sad, don't you?"

Erica sighed wearily, her brown eyes rolling to the ceiling in exasperation, "Will Stwles be here soon?"

"Yes baby, before you know it. Go get your brother, we need to have a talk before he gets here." He told her as he opened a drawer. Silverware rattled under his fingers before finally coming up triumphant with a spoon. He immediately plopped it into the newly opened sour cream.

"Daddy, not another inside skills talk." The four year old grumbled as she walked from the room, yelling out to get Isaac's attention. They returned shortly, wearing mutual faces of disinterest at the speech they expected to hear.

"Alright you two, we're going to have a slightly different set of rules tonight. You know Stiles is going to be here and I trust you both to be on your best behavior with everything, but he's also bringing his cousin. Erica, he's a year older than you. I expect you to play nice, share your toys, and of course share Stiles." Both of the children perked up at the mention of a possible playmate, exchanging excited glances and nodding their agreement of behavior. "I know I don't need to tell you, but for the sake of the night going smoothly, please remember that both of them are human. Play, but play carefully; they can't roughhouse like you both are used to."

The distant rumble of Stiles' Jeep turning into their drive distracted the trio, and Derek wisely cut his talk short with a few last minute pointers and hurried promises. The Jeep was just pulling up to the house and Derek was placing the rest of dinner on the table when he noticed Erica sitting deathly still in her chair, her eyes flickering amber and the tips of her fangs poking over her lip.

"Eri, what did I say about inside skills?" He frowned at her lack of response, picking her up and slinging her onto his hip, eyes searching hers.

"Sorry daddy." She grinned, fangs slipping inside her gums, "I didn't even mean too." Derek sighed, easily chalking it up to her feeding off his own emotional turmoil. After all, this was the first time any of them were physically setting eyes and senses on Stiles since the mall. He just needed to reassure and help everyone reel themselves in.

"Why don't you go with Isaac for a minute? He'll help you calm down while I get Stiles and his cousin situated in the kitchen." Isaac reached out, grabbing Erica's small hand as Derek set her on her feet, leading her away from the front door while preaching breathing exercises and anchors.

A few moments later found Derek eyeing is front door nervously. He wasn't going to preemptively open it, he wasn't a creeper, and he didn't want to act too anxious, after all he was a civilized wolf; he could wait until Stiles knocked. It didn't take long, of course. Stiles was just as jittery as Derek was. He could feel it through the bond, even as weak as it was. He sighed, ears picking up the sound of movement outside, knowing the doorbell was about to go off any second.

All he wanted was to fling the door open and ask him how he was dealing with their connection, if it bothered him, what questions he might have. And of course there would be questions, after earlier he had plenty of them himself, and Stiles was always full of them. Derek thought back to that first night when he had let his mind wander, thinking of all the things Stiles might bring to the table for his pack and what good he would do for them. He couldn't have been more pleased that he didn't end up wondering long. One of the major things Derek had learned through their almost constant text messaging, Stiles brain was always moving, craving new information like some kind of drug. It was enthralling to see how quickly he drank in so much information, in the two weeks they had been in contact Stiles had devoured three different books that he knew of, had talked to him about at least four different types of career paths he had considered, and given him a two hour text lecture in the origins of Greek Mythology.

He sucked in another breath as the doorbell chimed through the house, walking the few feet he had distanced himself from the doorway while he waited. The door opened with a familiar easy click to his ears, giving him the first physical view of his Mate in weeks, he didn't bother trying to hide the smile that broke out across his face as he took him in appreciating how right Erica had been about his scent reminding her of sugar and home. In truth, Stiles just smelled like he already belonged here, and if that wasn't a sign of fate Derek didn't know what was. He let his eyes fall to the smaller figure piggy backed behind Stiles, one of his impressive eyebrows cocking as he caught the boys scent. Something in the back of his mind triggered, but he pushed it aside as Stiles started speaking to him, his thoughts coming back to more immediate topics at hand.

"Yo, sorry we're so late. Lost track of time. Derek, this is my cousin Boyd." The boy waved silently, his huge eyes staring across at Derek with curiosity. "You'll have to excuse the silent treatment, Boyd doesn't really talk."

"No, it's fine." Derek reached his hand out, eyes connecting with Boyd's, warm and friendly. "So I'll assume you're the real man of the house." Derek and Boyd exchanged twin mischievous looks as Derek moved to usher them into the house, ignoring Stiles scoff. "I hope you're both hungry, I've been fending the kids off for at least an hour. The kitchen is practically a war scene, but I'm assuming you can forgive the mess?"

Derek's smile threatened to split his face in half as he took in Stiles wide eyes and smelled the practically tangible approval rolling off him in waves, "Are those…did you make walking tacos? And is that a giant bowl of sautéed onions? Dude." The sound of Stiles stomach growling loudly cut through the kitchen, "You are a king among kings."

"I thought super casual was a safe bet, plus who doesn't love eating tacos from a bag?" Derek shrugged, trying to shelf some of the self-satisfaction he was feeling, "I'll go get the kids, make yourselves at home."Excusing himself from the room and moving into the hallway toward the kid's rooms he let himself take a breather, his heart hammered away in his chest but this was more from anticipation then worry. So far everything was going perfectly, for the first time in his life he actually felt like something might work out. Hell he might even thank Lydia later in the form of an obscene amount of gift cards to her favorite stores.

Pushing himself away from the wall he had leaned against he continued on toward the kids, he could hear Stiles talking to Boyd on the other side of the house, which was something he fully intended to speak with him about later. It wasn't that he so much wanted to pry, but there was something interesting about the kid that Derek couldn't place, and if he was important to Stiles then he was important to Derek. And hey, maybe once Stiles was brought into the loop on "Hey there, my name is Derek Hale, I'm your local Werewolf Alpha and intended life-bond mate," then maybe Boyd could be brought in as well.

Having human allies used to be a much larger part of general Pack dynamics, and it wasn't unheard of that humans who had pack bonds were generally much more stable physically and emotionally. It grounded them, and maybe that's what Boyd needed. Derek could easily tell there was nothing physically wrong with the kid, he didn't have that sick smell that humans get when they have something physically wrong with them, if he had to guess the most likely cause, trauma. It wasn't uncommon in children that young to close themselves off to put distance between themselves and the emotional overload.

His thoughts halted as he reached Isaac's room where his offspring were seated Indian style across from each other. Erica jumped up as he entered the room, throwing a huge non toothy grin at him. "We're doing our breathing, Papa!" Isaac nodded in agreement as Derek came in and scooped Erica into his arms. "I don't know what her deal was, she's got herself under control, guess she was just being a baby."

"I'm notta baby! I wanna see Stwles now, papa." She tugged on his shirt sleeve, her eyes her normal calm brown and teeth safely dulled down even as she spared a moment to shove her tongue out at her elder sibling who safely mocked her back. Derek gestured with a nod to the door for Isaac to follow as he started back toward the kitchen, "Alright you two, best behavior, play nice with Boyd, and don't smother Stiles. Understand?"

Any reply was drowned out as Erica practically barreled out of Derek's arms as Stiles came into view, crying his name in her little five year old manor and climbing her way into his lap. "Well hey there Catwoman, wait a minute," She paused deathly still as Stiles eyed her critically, "You can't be Catwoman." Erica shrank visibly, tiny hands clutching his shirt for dear life, "Yes I can, I can be Catwoman Stwles!" Stiles eyed Derek who replied with a shrug, handing a plate over to Isaac, "Well see, the Catwoman I remember was smaller! You're at least two inches bigger."

Erica giggled, "Stwles, I grew!" She shrieked as Stiles stood up unexpectedly, gripping her under the arms and hauling her above his head, "My god you have grown! I see a slightly larger Catwoman after all!" Derek beamed from across the room, his heart pounding in his chest as he ducked his head to hide his face shattering grin. Isaac nudged him, a knowing smirk plastered across his ten year old features, "Make your taco and stop eyeing me like you know everything, you're ten, you aren't allowed to look at me like that until you're at least thirty."

Behind him Stiles had finally set Erica down, allowing Boyd to reclaim his piggybacked position as they began picking at the walking taco spread. "Dude, do you know the last time I had walking tacos? I must have been like nine, this is officially the coolest dinner ever, Scott would be so jealous right now. What do you think big man, Scott and Dad are really missing out aren't they? We should totally rub this epic meal in their faces later." Boyd giggled his agreement, making grabby hands at an open bag of chips which Stiles immediately handed him.

The five of them gathered around quickly dissolved into a lighthearted argument about what movie was going to get watched on Derek's obscenely large big screen TV. Stiles sided with Erica who firmly insisted she not only got to sit between Boyd and Stiles but that Sailor Moon was clearly the way to go, Derek and Isaac took the moral high ground and insisted on How to train your dragon. In the end they all piled on the couch, Boyd getting one end of the couch after picking Iron Man out of Derek's impressive library of media, Erica crammed in between Boyd and Stiles and holding one of each their hands in her own, Derek with his arms thrown over the back of the couch with Isaac curled up using the other end of the couch as a head rest.

About halfway through Pepper digging her hand into Tony's chest Stiles leaned closer to Derek, weaseling his hand out of Erica's who only grumbled and curled further into Boyds arm. He eyed the two sleeping toddlers with a smile on his face before turning back to Derek, "Thanks for tonight." Derek shifted so Stiles body fit comfortably against his own, "It doesn't have to just be tonight, you know. This can be an all the time thing, we all want you to feel at home here."

Derek didn't have to second guess Stiles feelings on the matter, their close proximity for the last few hours had the bond linking them even closer and if he didn't think it would scare Stiles out of his mind and leave some mentally scarring trauma on Boyd's young mind he would shift right now and howl his claim through the woods. Unfortunately, based on Stiles sudden look of confusion he was feeling it more than ever as well. He knew this was a talk they needed to have, but this wasn't something he wanted to rush. A first date was a first date, and last he checked you didn't profess life long bonds and have the soul mate talk on first dates.

"I probably should get Boyd back home soon. Looks like the rugrats are passing out on us, one day they'll have all night movie watching stamina but tonight is not that night." Stiles sounded a bit regretful, and as much as Derek wanted to protest the idea of his Mate walking out his door he knew the side of responsibility would win out. Reaching over he shook his eldest beta awake, pulling the crumpled bag of Fritos from under his hand and urging him toward his own bedroom. Isaac yawned and stretched, half lidded eyes closing more often than he could keep them open.

"Why don't I carry him to his room and you can pry Erica from Boyd?" Stiles offered, maneuvering so he could stand up without disturbing the kids too much, before scooping Isaac off the couch. "Come on, think you can stay awake long enough to help me figure out where your bed is?" Isaac nodded against Stiles shoulder, one arm slung around Stiles neck as the other rubbed his eye, "Around the corner." Shooting a grin at Derek and making sure his grip on Isaac was secure he took off around the corner. Derek let himself watch them walk away, a low rumble of contentment murmured from inside his chest at the sight of his mate taking care of his pups, it was all wonderfully natural and he made another quick mental reminder to thank Lydia profusely.

He snaked one arm around Erica's waist so he could shift her, hopefully without waking Boyd. He felt it and smelled it before he saw it, the few tiny drops of blood on his arm as Erica sank her teeth into him, and inside his Alpha churned at such a blatant display of challenge from one of his Betas. "Erica!" He hissed her name, low and feral, warning her off of him. Stiles would be back from taking Isaac to bed any minute, and this is the last way he wanted him to find out their little family secret, "Erica Talia Hale, let go of me right now." His eyes flashed crimson for a moment, fading as soon as his daughters eyes reverted to their normal brown and confusion littered her face. His anger melted as she burst into tears, arms unwinding from Boyd and reaching out for him.

"Daddy, daddy I didn't mwean too. I'm sorry" She wailed, giant fat tears falling onto his shoulder as she clung to him, "I didn't mwean to bite you papa!" She insisted, hugging him a little tighter just as Stiles rushed back into the room, a distressed look on his face as he surveyed the scene before him. "What happened?"

"Stwles, I didn't mean too! I was sweeping and I bit papa, but it wasn't me and I didn't mwean too!" Erica sobbed harder into Derek's shoulder as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to drown out the panic building under his skin. Boyd had been awake when Derek's eyes changed, he was sure of it.


	6. Hiatus

For those of you who have this story bookmarked and any of you who may be following this silently, I felt the need to inform you of this story being on Hiatus. I've been trying for weeks to pick this back up and the next chapter just isn't coming to me right now. I'm not rude enough to churn out a crap chapter just to give you guys an update, so I'll be honest instead. I don't plan to abandon this story, but right now my attention is 100% on my Supernatural / Teen wolf cross over fanfic and coming back to this is really difficult. The problem is that I never really had a timeline to go off of for this story. I know what I want to happen, so it's not like the end goal isn't there, but actually finding my way to the finish line is proving to be more difficult than i originally thought it would.

My apologies for anyone who just started reading or for anyone who has been waiting for this new chapter. If you decide to unfollow the story I understand, but I assure you when i'm able to figure this next chapter out I will be updating it.

In the meantime for any of you who enjoy Superwolf, my other fanfiction (which has a chapter timeline, i promise) is on my profile and I try to update that as often as i can between all the garbage life throws at me plus the huge move I just made from Florida to Saint Louis.

Also if you want the most up to date information on how any of my stories are progressing then I really suggest you follow my work over at Archiveofourown. I post the most up to date authors notes as well as chapters, but if you don't care for Ao3 then like i said before you can always catch me on tumblr either on my RP account .com or my personal .com.

Sorry again guys,

Maren.


End file.
